Savage Range

by Luke Short

A ranch foreman must tame a bunch of cutthroat cowboys—or die trying—in this rowdy, action-packed western from a master storyteller. San Jon may be the sorriest town Jim Wade has ever set foot in. Its dry river, ramshackle buildings, and vicious lawlessness make it the spitting image of hell on earth . . . so Wade feels right at home. He’s used to solving problems with his fists and his gun.   Wade’s come to take a job as foreman for a ranching outfit, which he finds in just as bad of shape as the town itself. The killers his employer calls cowboys are the roughest bunch he’s ever seen, and they’ve schemed up an awful plan that could cost Wade his neck. To survive, he’ll have to do what he’s done all his shoot fast and ride hard.   Classic Luke Short, from the pitch-perfect setting to the hard-driving action, Savage Range is western fiction at its most intense.      

Genres: Westerns

206 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1938

About the author

Luke Short (real name Frederick Dilley Glidden) was a popular Western writer.

Born in Kewanee, Illinois Glidden attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for two and a half years and then transferred to the University of Missouri at Columbia to study journalism.

Following graduation in 1930 he worked for a number of newspapers before becoming a trapper in Canada then later moved to New Mexico to be an archeologist's assistant.

After reading Western pulp magazines and trying to escape unemployment he started writing Western fiction. He sold his first short story and novel in 1935 under the pen name of Luke Short (which was also the name of a famous gunslinger in the Old West, though it's unclear if he was aware of that when he assumed the pen name.)

After publishing over a dozen novels in the 1930s, he started writing for films in the 40s. In 1948 alone four Luke Short novels appeared as movies. Some of his memorable film credits includes Ramrod (1947) and Blood on the Moon (1948). He continued to write novels, despite increasing trouble with his eyes, until his death in 1975. His ashes are buried in Aspen, Colorado, his home at the time of his death.

Reviews

[Henry Avila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Luke Short a popular western writer from the 1930's to the 1960's when the genre was at its height, 14 novels and short stories filmed, two of the best Station West, a strange mix of film noir and Old West atmosphere, with Dick Powell and Blood on the Moon starring the incomparable Mr. Robert Mitchum in his charismatic role as a cowpoke drifter, both movies from 1948. Born Frederick Dilley Glidden you can understand why his publisher change to this moniker, the amusing thing is the real Luke Short 1854-1893 was one of the few gunman to die in bed, of natural causes. Later told this, the author put a smile on his face. This 1938 interesting work began like many in a magazine, lets turn back from the detour to the main road before we fall off the cliff...my error giving a plot part away. Where was I ? Yes ...This may seem just another range war about landowners and unwanted squatters, nonetheless relatively new back when it saw the light of day. Jim Wade rides into northern New Mexico hired to drive out the unwanted settlers from ranches the hard working cattlemen have worked hard to developed . After a decade of sweating as the Sun beats down searching for lost cattle, chasing rustlers, finding green grass for the hungry animals, fighting paid gunmen trying remove them from their land not a easy life, still death often occurs to the ranchers. Mr. Wade seems like a vicious bad man, saddle tramp with a job to eliminate people he doesn't know, innocent, good or bad, all the same to him for money is money and an empty stomach not a pleasant prospect. Max Bonsell ostensibly hired Jim to be foreman of his ranch, nobody believes this, he will remove by threat or violence the landgrabbers from Max's property. Not an astonishment when dozens of killings takes place, as readers expect it and why they bought the novel. San Jon is rather lawless burg with a Sheriff Link Haynes not noted for being the brightest bulb in the room. Two pretty ladies are important cogs in the plot , Mary Buckner (most beautiful woman Wade has seen), the apparent heir to an old Spanish priceless land grant, the giant property Bonsell brutally inhabits and Lily Beaucamp pretty 20 years old, her brother Ben helps Wade. The eternal triangle helps broaden the synapses towards the countless, ecstatic audience. The key theme here is trust, can you turn your back to this gentleman or think about it, a women's word, maybe, for betrayals are common as dirt in the face on the frontier. A western worth turning the page again and again to conclusion.

[Davy Bennett]

Bernie Sanders favorite western.
...or was it Kinky Friedman.
Very nuanced.

[James Woodruff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic pulp western. Luke Short does his best Max Brand impression with the hired fixer-upper trope. Here, he adds a twist. Fun

[Robert Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel has all that I look for in a Western Pulp story. The consummate tough cowboy rides into town with a specific job in mind then a slaughter occurs, and the hero finds he’s all knotted up in the middle of something else. There’s a nasty set piece involving stampeding cows and a cliff, there are a few gunbattles, and the villain is smart and has the hero on the ropes for most of the novel even when the hero thinks he is closing in on him. There are a few twists and lots of backstabbing involved.

Otherwise, the book was a quick read, and I was never bored. However, there was a single instance of a casual racist phrase near the beginning. Fortunately, I did not run into any other instances in the narrative. Unfortunately, this is to be expected in a lot of Western Pulp written in the 1930s. Despite this, the narrative moves at a decent pace, the landscape is present though not romanticized to the level that I typically prefer, and the characters are clearly defined and make intelligent choices based on what they know at the time. The two romances in the book are somewhat believable, one more than the other, but not too much time was committed to either in favor of the action and scheming. I don’t come to these for romance, so I think that’s a plus.

I liked this book and would recommend this to anyone looking for classic Western Pulp. I am looking forward to reading Luke Short’s other works that wait patiently on my shelves.

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good, but very old western, first published in 1938 when Short was just getting started as a western fiction writer. It has almost everything in it: manly men, beautiful gals, rustlers, drygulchers, hard-headed sheriffs, double crossers, triple crossers, much gunplay and a noble horse. These are all cliches now, but I wonder how many of them were cliches in 1938. Anyway, a fun read.

[D. E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Luke Short Western About A roving man who arrived in a small violent town and accepts a job as foreman at a large ranch. Unbeknownst to him is the plans of the owners to commit savage injury to other parties and then blame him for the ranch crews had deeds. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS

[Mike Bradford · Rating 5 out of 5]

great western

Great storyline with more twist and turns that keep you wondering what happens next. Great characters who develop in the story and how they come together to a great ending
Highly recommend this book

[Charles Castell · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting series of mixed adventures that definitely keeps you turning pages!

Another five star masterpiece that will pacify anyone's desired expectations from beginning to end! A couple of slowdowns, but nothing to deter your undivided attention!
Some compelling storylines that grabs your attention immediately, and definitely intensifys with each new endeavor! I found it hard to put the story aside until the final series of ongoing adventures grabs you, and the ending will pacify your innermost desires!
Too, once,again Author Luke Short, steps up to the plate,when it comes to appropriate character selections, and the ending is very satisfying!
Most definitely recommend these entertaining series of how our old West was finally tamed!!!😄

[E. C. Swartout · Rating 5 out of 5]

Savage Range

A very good Luke Short book about the only thing I wasn't really pleased with was the hero was just a little too super.